To Be The Best
by Gibbsgirl
Summary: One person's thoughts during an interrogation. Complete


Title: To Be The Best  
Author: Gibbsgirl  
Rating: K  
Spoilers: Twilight

Disclaimer: I don't own em, I don't work for em, I'm not even sure I'm really allowed to borrow them like this, but the heck with it. They're way too much fun to play with.

Author' Note: This piece is part of a fic-a-thon that was suggested on a livejournal page Mac directed me to. Like I didn't have enough stuff I was working on. But I found myself intrigued by one of the quotes I was given, and this story just materialized for me. Writing it well, however, was work and I owe Mac many, many thanks for her help. Also, this is the first time a piece of my work was seen by a reading group outside the online community and I want to thank them for their comments.

I had not intended this to be a post-Twilight story in anyway, but sometimes my characters thoughts and actions surprise even me.

* * *

"They are separate from you, however much you love them, and all you have done, in a moment's passion, is create the circumstances for their existence."  
- Sebastian Faulks, Charlotte Gray

I stood at the back of the observation room and observed. Observed the four we allowed in, observed the solitary man in the interrogation room. What a mess this day had turned out to be; McGee was lucky, he had been given some other task. Therefore, I had become Anthony DiNozzo, Special Agent In Charge of Entertainment and Baby-sitting. Why me? Again? I certainly didn't want to be here when this story unraveled.

I looked over each of the four individuals in front of me. Allowing them in Observation during an interrogation hadn't been my call. It hadn't exactly been Gibbs' either, although he'd grudgingly given in when an old friend had called in a favor. 

So here we stood, the five of us, three in the stiff military posture that looks so forced in those of us who are not, waiting for Gibbs to enter the room on the other side of the glass and get to the bottom of this tragedy. I leaned my head back against the wall and unwanted scenes from the day began to crowd my mind.

* * *

Grab your gear, we have a training accident at Quantico, was all Gibbs said before we were on our feet.

Why are we investigating, Boss? McGee asked the question before I could.

According to the MP's there seems to be a great deal of discrepancy over how much of an accident this really was.

There wasn't much discussion on the way to the scene; we didn't have much information to go on. We reviewed the jackets on both victim and suspect, discovering that Corporal Ryan Overton II, deceased, and Sergeant Thomas Overton were cousins. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at that piece of news.

Motive for murder, Boss?Why don't we wait and see what the witnesses have to say about the Overton boys, DiNozzo? Gibbs turned to the younger man in the truck and continued. McGee, when we get back, I want you all over these boys' history. I want to know about every incident they've ever been involved in, good or bad. If there's a chance this was murder I want to know about it.On it, Boss. I watched McGee start tapping away at his PDA, obviously getting a head start on Gibbs' request.

Once we arrived, we found MP's in charge of the witnesses and the scene. Gibbs set McGee to flashing and processing with Ducky and Palmer, then motioned me to join him. We approached a Gunny standing with an MP off to the side. 

NCIS, Special Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo. What happened? Gibbs, to the point, as ever.

This was a demonstration of knife fighting skills by two of my more experienced men. Tommy and Ryan are quite good, but very competitive young men. You do know that they're cousins?Yes, Gunny. Go on.Ordinarily I wouldn't pair them up for something like this. I don't even like to see them spar with each other, because sometimes they just don't know when to back off. But Tommy's sparring partner broke his leg two days ago. 

Why didn't you just put Ryan and his partner in the ring? I asked, pleased that Gibbs still held the man's gaze steadily.

Because, frankly, Ed just isn't as good as Tommy. Ryan needs, needed, a new partner, but Tommy and his partner are, were, the only two I had who were good enough. I felt a little sorry for the Gunny as he stumbled over his verb tenses. He clearly hadn't adjusted to the fact that Ryan was gone, yet. I could relate, all too well.

So you put the cousins in the ring together. Then what happened?Honestly, Agent Gibbs, I don't know. I didn't really watch the fight. I had other workouts going in the gym, I was trying to keep an eye on everyone in here. I heard the shouts and glanced over my shoulder a couple of times. But I didn't really look at what was going on in the ring.Shouts. What shouts? My turn again, more notes.

Tommy and Ryan each had a few students among the observers in the group. They were cheering on the fight. I didn't really think anything of it. The DI's were right there, they didn't seem to mind.All right, Gunny. Thank you for your time. Gibbs turned to me as we walked away from the Marine. What do you think?I think we're going to be interviewing Marines for a while, Boss. I half expected a slap upside the head, but instead he sighed.

I'm afraid you're right, Tony.

* * *

If only it had been that simple, I thought, as I moved to take a chair. That large a group of witnesses, surely we'd get a pretty comprehensive story. Right? Wrong. I watched the recording tech adjust his monitors, making sure he was ready for Gibbs. Then he turned his attention back to his book and I turned mine back to the four people studying the young man through the one-way glass. I was suddenly very interested in what he had to say. My curiosity had gotten the better of me and I wanted to know now whether this was murder or accident. Unplanned or premeditated. Satisfaction or regret.

Remembering our attempts to find out just what had happened from the witnesses threatened to bring back the headache from earlier. What chaos that had turned into

* * *

Gibbs sent McGee back to HQ with Ducky and Palmer; he wanted those backgrounds on the Overton boys yesterday. Personally, as I saw the number of men to be interviewed, I thought we'd have been better off with his help here. But instead of inviting that headslap, I wisely kept my mouth shut.

We walked past a line of Marines waiting beside a door. There was a similar line on the other side, and as we entered the room, a large classroom just down the hallway from the gym where the accident had occurred, Gibbs jerked his head to one side. All right DiNozzo, I'll take these, you take thoseAnd I'll be in Scotland before ye Now I did get the smack upside the head, but I couldn't help myself. It was just the way he said it, coupled with the sheer insanity of killing a family member. It was starting to get to me. I had to do something stupid to lighten the mood, if only for myself. Death seemed to affect me differently lately, especially the death of family.

We set up at two tables, one on each side of the room. The Marines to be interviewed were lined up at the main doors leading into the classroom; as one man stood from his chair after his interview, the next man entered and sat down. The exiting Marines left by the rear classroom door, just behind my table. Sometimes military efficiency could be so well, efficient.

And thus began the interviews. State your name for the record, tell me what happened and so on. Only the and so on' didn't go as planned. 

It was just a simple knife fight, just went too farAw, Ryan cut Tommy deliberately, then taunted him until Tommy struck back in rage.Tommy was always having to prove he was better than Ryan. No way he was ever gonna let Ryan win that fight.Ryan was out for blood, Tommy did what he had to, to survive.

They went on like this, some clearly in Ryan's camp, some clearly pro-Tommy. I wasn't sure what to think. I looked up to see Gibbs: jaw clenched, eyes narrowed, the anger in his face, the frustration in his posture. Somehow it made me absurdly grateful that I was not the only one these kids were getting to. 

The volume from the exiting men continued to increase as they hovered near the door, discussing the fight rather than dispersing. Gibbs' irritation at our recalcitrant Marines spilled over, with me catching the brunt of it.

DiNozzo! What the hell is going on over there? 

The men seem to be having a difference of opinion, Boss, I yelled back over the rising din.

He glared at me. You're supposed to be keeping them separate!After they talk to me, I can't control I thought better of what I'd been about to say. I'll handle it, I sighed, and headed for the source of the racket. I arrived just as a fistfight between two of the recruits broke out.

Break it up! I suicidally placed myself between the brawlers then moved to subdue one of them as a couple of the already-interviewed men lent a hand with the other.

Where the hell are the MP's who are supposed to be guarding this line? I snarled, as the yet-to-be-interviewed gathered around to observe the scuffle.

Silence reigned around us in answer. All right then just what is going on?

As quickly as the sound had died, it erupted again. It seemed as if everyone wanted to weigh in on the Tommy/Ryan knife fight.

Tommy murdered Ryan!Did not, you dumb bastard! Tommy was just the better fighter and Ryan should never have taunted him like that!

I could feel my head start to pound as the sound escalated. About this time, Gibbs decided to poke his head out the door.

Everybody knows the two of them have had it in for each other forever!That's ridiculous! Tommy's a great guy! He wouldn't hurt anyone!Everyone knows it's Ryan who's fought harder than Tommy!

With just Gibbs and I, and no MP's in sight, I was starting to wonder how we were going to control all these angry men.

Fistfights broke out, it took all of five seconds to go from dead silence to a free-for-all in the hallway. Gibbs' eyes widened at the uncontrolled mayhem and he let out one short, piercing whistle that cut through the uproar. 

In the ensuing stunned silence, he looked at me. I want Thomas Overton in my chat room. I'm getting to the bottom of this training accident my way. Then he stormed off, leaving me with a company of pissed off Marines and a budding migraine.

I took a breath. Gentlemen, you are dismissed. Where can I find your CO?

* * *

Thomas Overton was delivered to Interrogation Room One roughly one hour later. Shortly before that Gibbs received a phone call from someone, he never said who, asking that four people be allowed to observe the interview. At first, he fought it. Eventually he relented and I was introduced to Lieutenant Commander Russell Overton, his wife Leslie, Commander Ryan Overton and his wife Captain Cynthia Overton.

They'll be in Observation with you, DiNozzo, Gibbs told me.

I blinked, but didn't say anything other than, Yes, Boss. Then I turned to our guests. If you'll follow me?

So here we were. Watching as Gibbs entered the room, as he took a seat across from Tommy Overton, the silvered head with its back to us.

Tommy, the older of the cousins, arguably the more successful, at least as far as the Marines were concerned. He lifted his dark head and let us see into his deep green eyes. Eyes that gave nothing away.

What happened today, Tommy? Gibbs was, once again, straight to the point.

I don't know, Sir. Tommy's face was inscrutable.

The hell you don't, Marine! You were in a knife fight and you killed a man! I want to know what happened! I want to know every minute, every step, every thought! What went on in that fight? Gibbs snapped back, every bit the Marine.

Gunny put us in the ring together, Sir. He's never done that before, not for demonstration. We wanted it to be good. We agreed going in we'd make it good.So you both agreed to stage this fight to the death? 

No, Sir! Not like that! We wanted to show what a knife fight was like against a skilled opponent. We each knew the other was good enough to make it look real, to show these kids what it's really like. Tommy's voice was shaking now; he seemed to want us to believe.

All right, let's assume that to be the case for now. What happened? Gibbs' voice was deceptively mild as he encouraged the young man to continue.

I don't know, Sir!Bullshit, Overton! I have your history, yours and your cousin's. Gibbs was back to being hard, calloused. Says you two fought constantly. All through school, constant fights, one-upmanship, everything you two did was a battle to see who was better. Isn't that right? I saw the two women standing in front of me reach for each other's hands and cling together. This was clearly a painful memory for them, I could see it in the way they tried to reassure each other in that touch.

Ryan was good! Damn good, Sir! He worked hard at everything; worked to be his best. I was proud of everything he ever did. Tommy met Gibbs' stare unflinchingly.

But you were better. In fact, you were always just a bit better, weren't you? And that made Ryan furious. His dad had the higher rank, he thought should be the better one, didn't he?I don't know what he thought, Tommy said, pressing the thumb and middle finger to his eyes in either fatigue or frustration. I always fought to do my best, he always fought. So I fought him. I suppose it was stupid, but that's the way it was. Maybe I did it because, in a way, he pushed me to be better than I thought I could be. He always wanted to be the best and I used that to set a higher bar for myself. I just don't know anymore, Agent Gibbs.Is that what this fight was? Just another higher bar for you? One more step up, with Ryan as the rung? 

This wasn't like that, Agent Gibbs! We wanted to do this fight, we wanted to make it look good, wanted to show Gunny that we could spar with each other without it getting he trailed off and dropped his gaze to his hands on the table.

Getting out of hand? I'd say it did that, wouldn't you Sergeant?Look, all I know is we were fighting. And it felt good to fight him like that. To show off our skills and know that we were both the best. Overton's voice held a touch of pride on those words, and Gibbs clearly picked up on it.

But that wasn't enough, was it? You two had to keep pushing each other, didn't you? Gibbs was out of his chair, had come around to sit on the edge of the table by Tommy. 

We always pushed each other! Always and always too far. We never even thought about it, we just pushed and worried about the consequences later. Tommy's voice dropped suddenly. Guess there is no later for me and Ryan anymore.So tell me what happened, Tommy, Gibbs asked again, quietly.

The young Marine gave a deep sigh then he began to speak in a halting voice. We were doing great in that fight, things were going just the way we'd planned. Then the kids started shouting, cheering us on. I could sense that Ryan was really getting into that, he was getting more aggressive. 

The cadence of his voice changed as he slipped into the memory of the action. I didn't have a problem defending against it; we were both good enough to handle it. But the crowd, I guess, got to me too. I started to fall into that same competitive mindset and we really started going after one another. Somehow Ryan got a cut in on me. His voice rose in surprise as he yanked up his sleeve and showed us a nasty slice on his lower bicep.

What did you do, Sergeant?I fought back! I was attacked, I defended myself! Tommy snapped.

Are you saying you deliberately killed your cousin?

The men in front of me never moved but the women now had an arm around each other. Neither was crying that I could tell; it was odd. They were listening to one child talk about the killing of the other and it was almost as if it had been expected.

I'm saying I don't know what happened. The words came out as a wail then his voice became guttural, harsh and painful to hear. One minute we were in a demonstration knife fight and the next I was standing over the body of my cousin with a bloody knife in my hand. He gave a funny hiccup as he continued, his only concession to emotion, All I had was some strange memory of killing an attacker. Except that the man bleeding his life away at my feet wasn't some nameless enemy, he was family. Tommy turned his eyes to Gibbs and in them, I could see the pain he would not let out anywhere else. He was the closest thing I had to a brother.

I watched the women hug and console each other. The men finally took their eyes off the glass in front of them and stared at each other. To me they looked as if they'd aged ten years since they'd entered the room.

I was struck, suddenly, that no matter how much we love and care for our children we cannot choose who they become, how they will live their lives, nor how they will die. As I watched these two families whose lives had been shattered by one death, I couldn't help but think of another death. Another shattered family. 

While Tommy sat, head hung in misery for the life he had taken; I knew there was another whose head was held high. While Ryan died after years of constantly trying to best his cousin, I knew there was another who died simply because she had been one of the best. 

I shook my head, trying to separate my conflicting emotions from the job. In the end all I could come up with was that death was final, no matter who ends the life or the reasons behind it. Blame and revenge will never reverse time, nor give us just one more chance to make things right. All that remains are the survivors and the memories.

I slipped quietly out of Observation and made my way out of the building. I'd explain it later if anyone asked, but right now, I owed a friend a visit.


End file.
